Jan Avery Elkins

Jan and I went to the same high school. I was a year younger so I didn't know him very well but I knew he was well liked. I remember when the news of his death hit our town a few days after his death. I had signed up for the Army the day before he died. I frequently thought of him during my time in the Army, as he was the first person I knew who died in Vietnam.

I learned to have great respect for Marines, and I say this with honor and humility: